FicWad

When Michael returned to the mansion and went into the foyer, Laura was just coming down the stairs. He looked up at her questioningly and she said, "My sister is awake and says she has a headache, so she's going to remain in bed for now. Did you find anything?"

"Not too much. A man's footprint and a couple of other things that I'm having checked out. How are you and Shauna holding up?"

"Just barely," Shauna answered, entering the foyer from the living room. "This is so ridiculous. If Daddy did implant information in us, we have no knowledge of it. And so we can't tell anyone about it. I think Daddy is the only one who could have unlocked our minds, so it shouldn't matter to anyone whether or not we have it."

"That's true, but someone evidently doesn't believe in taking any chances. That's assuming, of course, that the shooter is someone who doesn't want the information to get out, or is working for that person."

"What do you mean, 'assuming'?" Laura asked, sharply. "What other motive could there be?"

"It could be someone trying to get hold of your company, someone we don't know about yet who had a grudge against your father or one of you, or there could be a motive we haven't thought of yet."

"Michael, we are going stir crazy here," said Shauna. "We've been pretty much stuck here since Daddy was killed. I can't speak for Laura, but I'll go nuts if I don't get away from here, even if only for a few hours."

"I agree with Shauna. We both need to do something away from here, even if it's just to go shopping for a little while."

"What about your sister?"

"Who cares about her?" Shauna said contemptuously. "She's pretty much out for the rest of the day, anyway. She'll be fine." She moved closer to Michael and took his arm, leaning against him. "Oh, come on. It'll be fun. You can take us to our favorite shop and we'll put on a fashion show, just for you."

"Shauna, Michael might not like that kind of thing," her sister warned.

"Even if part of the show included bikinis? What kind of red-blooded man wouldn't enjoy something like that?"

Michael hesitated, thinking. "Look, I'll make a bargain with you two. I'll take you to one store, and you can shop for two hours, no more. I'll wait outside the store. And no sneaking out the back way, either. I'll know if you try to. Agreed?"

Shauna squealed with delight and Laura smiled. "Agreed." They both went upstairs to get their purses. Five minutes later, they were all in KITT and on their way. As they headed onto the highway, the girls commented on KITT's dashboard, but Michael kept his comments general, and KITT remained silent.

A little over two hours later, they were back at the mansion. The women had not bought as much as Michael had feared, but there were several bags to carry up to their rooms, and he gallantly helped them, then checked on Kelly. She was still sleeping.

He went outside to contact Devon, but the older man beat him to it. "Devon," he said as he took his usual place in the driver's seat. "What have you got for me?"

"You were right, Michael," Devon said as his face appeared on the screen. "Arthur Peterson was diverting funds allocated to other departments to his own pet projects - namely anything having to do with hypnosis. The company suffered as a result and now there is to be a general audit."

"That doesn't sound good for the girls."

"Well, that will all depend on what they find. But there's more. Here's Bonnie with the information you requested." He moved to one side, and Bonnie appeared on KITT's screen.

"We did the check you requested and found some interesting bits of information. I'm downloading it to KITT right now. It seems that Arthur Peterson and George Ross served together in Vietnam, in the same unit. They became friends and continued their friendship when they returned."

"Did they specialize in anything in particular?"

"Funny you should ask that. Peterson was an electronics expert and Ross excelled in explosives. Download complete, Michael."

"Thanks, Bonnie. Then that's how the bomb had to have gotten made and planted. And it explains how the parts and ingredients got onto the estate without anyone knowing." A sudden thought occurred to him. "KITT, check their military records, especially the part about their expertise with firearms."

"Michael, George Ross had an average rating, but Arthur Peterson rated marksman."

"My God, Michael!" Devon's face appeared once again on the screen. "Do you realize what this means?"

"Yes, I do."

"How are the ladies?"

"So far, so good. Kelly is still sleeping. I took the other two out shopping for a couple of hours. Right now they are in their rooms putting their purchases away. I guess I'd better get back inside. Talk to you later, Devon."

"Right. And Michael?"

"Yes?"

"Be careful."

The screen went black and Michael smiled to himself. KITT said, "Michael, I don't see where that piece of information fits into the puzzle. Why would Arthur Peterson blow himself up? "

"I don't think he did, KITT. I have a hunch that there will be a few surprises in store for everyone." He opened the car door and got out. "Stay alert."

"Of course."

As Michael entered the mansion once more, he saw that Laura had just reached the bottom of the staircase, and Shauna was descending. "Well, ladies? Are you feeling any better?"

"Well, yes and no," answered Laura, and her sister agreed. "It was nice to get away from here, even if it was only for a couple of hours. But I wish we were closer to finding the murderer. Are we?"

"We have a lot of the pieces of the puzzle. The problem is trying to get them to fit together properly."

"Why did this have to happen to us?" exclaimed Shauna as she turned to go into the living room. "I wish I could wake up to find that Daddy was still with us, alive and well."

"He is."

All three turned and saw Arthur Peterson walking toward them from the study